Adjustable work-supporting device.



G. G. ROBERTS.

ADJUSTABLE WORK SUPPORTING DEVICE.

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ADJUSTABLE WORK SUPPORTING DEVICE.

APPLICATION FILED JULY 13. 1911.

1,072,363. Patented Sep1;.2 ,1913. II E I m; Mal l.

I l l mil!!! fweizzor flaric J 67 fiaieria CHARLES C. ROBERTS, OF ANSQNIA, CONNECTICUT.

ADJUSTABLE WORK-$U1POBTING DEVICE.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Sept. 2, 1913.

Applicdt'ion filed July 13, 1911. Serii l No. 638,849.

To all whom/it may concern:

Be it known that I, CHARLES C. Ronnn'rs, a citizen of the United States, residing at Ansonia, in the county of New Haven and State of Connecticut, have invented new and useful Improvements in Adjustable ori:- Supporting Devices, of which the following is a specification.

My'present invention relates to improvements in supports adapted for use in leveling and holding work and particularly upon the tables of machine tools, and it has for its object to provide a simple and improved device of this kind which comprises a base adapted to rest upon the'table and a head which is adapted to provide a rest or support for the usual clamping bar or strap,=

the head having a shank which is provided with teeth that cooperate with corresponding teeth formed in the stand, such teeth being so shaped as to normally tend to retain themselves in engagement and to sustain the pressure or strain imposed upon the head, a set screw or equivalent device being preferahly used to prevent accidental disengagement of the teeth.

A further object of the invention is to provide an auxiliary supporting device which is provided with means for detachably coupling it to the adjustable support first mentioned whereby a support of greater height may be readily obtained, such auxiliary support being also preferably provided with an adjusting screw whereby it may be used in jacking up or supporting the work when clamped in position.

To these and other ends, the invention consists in certain improvements, and combinations and arrangements of parts, all as will be hereinafter more fully described, the novel features being ointed out particularly in the claims at e end of the specification.

In the accompanying drawing: Figure 1 is a diagrammatic view showing an adjustable support constructed in accordance with the present invention and illustrating one way of using itin connection with the workclamping means; Fig. 2 is an enlarged top lan view of the support, the ad ustable head being removed from the stand; Fig. 3 represents a central vertical section through the stand on the line 3-.-3 of Fig. 2-; Fig. 4 represents a central vertical section of the stand on the line 4-4 of Fig. 3;

Fig. 5 is an elevation of the adjustable head, the latter being removed from the stand; Fig. 6 is a diagrammatic view showmg the manner of using the adjustable stand when coupled to an auxiliary support and also a manner of using an auxiliary support for the purpose of leveling the work; Figs. 7 and 8 represent respect1vely to and bottom plan views of one of the auxi iary supports; and Fig. 9 represents a central vertical section through one of the auxiliary supports on the line 9-9 of Fig. 7, the manner of applying an adjusting screw to the auxiliary support being indicated by the dotted lines.

Similar parts are designated by the same reference characters in the several views.

Supporting devices embodying the present invention may be used generally in all cases where it is desirable or necessary to provide a rest of different-heights, although the invention is particularly advantageous when used in connection with planet's, shapcrs, drill presses and other machine tools for the purpose of leveling and securing work in proper position with respect to the cutting tool or tools. a In Figs. 1 to 5 inclusive, the adjustable supportcomprises a base or stand 1 the bottom of whlch is preferably widened or flared to enable the support to obtain a stable seating upon the work-table of the machine or any other appropriate surface, and the stand orbase is provided with a vertical opening 2, one side of this opening in the stand or base being formed with a vertical row of teeth 3. An adjustable head 4 of suitable shape and size is provided for the stand or base, it having a vertical downwardly extending shank 5 which is preferably circular in cross-section except at one side which is flattened and formed with a vertical row of teeth 6 which are adapted to cooperate in different adjusted relations with the teeth 3 formed interiorly of the stand or base 1. By engaging the teeth of the head at different positions vertically with res act to the teeth within the stand or base, t 1c head can be arran ed at difi'erent heights above the table or surtace upon which the stand or base rests. Means is preferably provided for retaining the teeth on the shank of the head in engagement with the teeth on the base or stand. In the present instance, a screw 7 is tapped into one side of the base or stand 1 preferably at a point near the top thereof and also at a point diametrically opposite to the teeth 3, and when the shank 5 is inserted into the base'or stand and the teeth on the shank are in proper engagement Wltll the teeth within the base or stand, the screw 7 may be turned until its inner end engages the rear side of the shank, lateral movement of the latter being thereby prevented so that accidental disengagement of the teeth on the shank from the teeth in the base or stand is avoided; hence, the adjustment of the device during handling will not be disturbed. In using devices of this kind, it is desirable to avoid the necessity of using wrenches to eli'ect the necessary adjustments.

The present invention provides a construction whereby the locking screw 7 may be readily manipulated by hand, that is, the use of a wrench'to loosen this screw is unnecessary. This is accomplished by forming the teeth within the base and those on the shank of the head in a peculiar way, the top or upper surface 8 of each tooth 3 in the stand sloping downwardly from its point while the lower surface of each tooth 6 on the shank slopes'upwardly from its outer edge or point so that when the teeth are engaged any weight or downward thrust imposed upon the head will tend to cause these teeth to-move into further engagement with one another and in this way any lateral thrust that would tend to disengage the teeth is avoided. For this reason the looking screw 7 does not necessarily sustain any thrust due to pressure imposed upon the head, but may serve only to prevent accidental disengagement of the teeth while the support is free from pressure. A support of this kind may be-used, for example, in

connection with the usual clamping bar or strap 9 one end of which bears upon the top of-the head 4 and the other end of the bar or strap may bear upon the piece of work 10, a bolt 11 engaging the bar or strap 9 at a point intermediate its ends, and the head of the. bolt may be suitably anchored in the work-table or support upon which the work rests, the tensionof the bolt 11 serving to clamp the work firmly upon the table and the adjustable support acts as a fulcrum for the clamping baror strap. The support is readilyadjustable so as to enable-the clamp mg bar or strap to-be applied to work of di e rent heights. Of course, the cross-sectional dimension of the shank 5 is smaller than the size of the opening provided 'at the top of thebaseby the passage 2 to enable the shank to be moved laterally so as to disengage .the teeth after the screw 7 has been loosened, thereby permitting readjustment of the-device. I

The support as shown in the preceding figures provides arange of adjustment which is suflicient in many cases. In some instances, however, the nature-of the work is such as to require the use of a'support of greater height. To provide for suchnecessities, an auxiliary support is provided by the present invention which has means for detachably coupling it to the support carrying the adjustable head. In fact, a number of these auxiliary supports may be used as circumstances may require. This auxiliary support comprises in the present instance a body or base 12 which is preferably hollow and is provided at its upper end with a neck 13 which is adapted to enter the bottom of the base 1 and this neck is formed with a. segmental locking flange, or in other words, it is provided with segmental flange sections of a suitable number. In the present instance, it is shown provided with two diametrically opposite flange sections 14, and the lower end of the base 1 is provided interiorly with a corresponding pair of segmental flange sections 15, segmental spaces being formed between the flange sections 14 and 15 whereby the bottom of the section 1 may be applied to the top of the auxiliary I section 12 in such a way that the flange sections 15 of the section 1 will occupy positions in a plane beneath the plane occupied by the flange sections 14, and by imparting a partial rotation to the two sections, the two pairs of flange sections maybe brought into positions one above the other and in this way the two sections will be locked or coupled together. Of course, the two sec-- tions can be readily detached or uncoupled by manipulating the parts in reverse order. These auxiliary supports are also adapted to be utilized as jacks or leveling devices for the work, especially in those cases where the work is of irregular shape and presents an overhanging portion. For this purpose, the neck 13 of, the auxiliary support is in the present instance threaded to receive a vertically adjustable screw 16 the upper endor head of which is adapted to engage the under side of the overhanging portion of the Work. In Fig. 6, I have shown one of the auxiliary supports in connection witha clamping bar or strap similar to that shown in Fig. 1, the auxiliary support serving to sustain the pressure or clamping action pro- 115 duce'd on the work by the clamping strap,

the work being thereby .held firmly in prop.-

erly leveled position.

Any suitable number of aum'liary supports or sections may be used and, to on able the auxiliary sections to be coupled to one another to increase the height thereof, the lower end'of each'auxiliary section is also preferably provided with a pair of segmental flange sections 17 which are similar to the flange sections 15 of the member 1, and these flange sections 17 are adapted to cooperate with the segmental flange sections I 14 of the supporting memberv for the purpose of coupling such members together.

From the foregoing, it will be obvious that a plurality of the auxiliary supports may be coupled together to provide a rest of the desired height, and, moreover, one or more of the auxiliary sections may be coupled to the section 1 which is provided with a vertically adjustable head for a similar purpose. By using supports of the kind provided by the present invention, the time and labor consumed in leveling, adjusting and securing work upon the tables or beds of machine tools is considerably reduced, and the necessity of using make-shift devices is avoided so that there is no liability of the work shifting under the operation of the tool.

I claim as my invention 1. A device of the class described comprising, in combination; a base having a vertical rack teeth complemental to those of the base,

said shank being movable laterally Within said opening to engage and disengage the teeth thereon with respect to those of the base, the thrust-sustaining surfaces of said teeth in the base and on the shank being shaped to prevent such lateral movement of the shank when a longitudinal thrust is applied to the latter.

2. A work support comprising, in combination, a base having a vertical bore formed at one side with a vertical row of rack teeth, a vertically adjustable thrust-receiving head provided with a shank adjustable vertically and movable laterally in said bore of the base and provided with a vertical row of rack teeth complemental to those of the base the thrust-sustaining surfaces of the teeth 0 each row being shaped to prevent such lateral movement of the shank to disengage the teeth when the shank is subjected to longitudinal thrust, and a locking device projecting inwardly through the wall of the bore in the base at a point diametrically opposite to the rack teeth of the base and cooperative with the shank to prevent lateral movement thereof to disengage the rows of rack teeth when the shank is free of a longitudinal thrust.

3. The combination of a member having a vertically adjustable head, an auxiliary member, and means for detachably coupling the bottom of the member first mentioned to the top of the auxiliary member, embodying complemental segmental flanges adapted to be engaged and disengaged by a partial rela tive rotation of the members.

4. The combination of a base member having a neck on its upper end formed with segmental circumferentially spaced flanges, an auxiliary member having a socket at its lower end formed with internal segmental circumferentially spaced flanges adapted to be engaged and disengaged with respect to the segmental flanges on the base member by a partial relative rotation of the members, and an adjustable head carried by the auxiliary member.

In testimony whereof I have hereunto set my hand in presence of two subscribing witnesses.

CHARLES C. ROBERTS.

Witnesses:

OSCAR ANDERSON, I'IARRY W. KAISER. 

